Trading off Sustainable Development in Canadian cities

Assignment Task

A sustainable city is designed and managed in a financially feasible manner with consideration given to environmental and social impact. It is inhabited by people dedicated to minimizing their use of finite resources, waste, and emission creation. It should meet the needs of the present occupants without sacrificing the right of the future occupants to meet their own needs. Throughout this class we’ll see examples of cities from around the world. Good examples (Portland, OR; Singapore), poor examples (cancer villages, China; Atlanta, GA; New York City of the 1970s), and developing examples (Mumbai, India; Beijing, China).

For this assignment, each student will complete an analysis of the sustainability of major Canadian city. Given the breadth of the concept, each student has great latitude in the completion of this assignment. Some things to consider are:

Question

• Does the community have renewable energy sources?
• What percent of the power for the city comes from those sources? How are those sources being developed?
• How large an ecological footprint does the community produce?
• How much pollution and waste is the city creating?
• What are the major biodiversity concerns?
• What urban planning techniques are currently in place to encourage sustainable building construction, affordable housing, etc.?
• What is the transportation environment in the city?
• What public/mass transit options are currently available/in planning stages? How is the bicycle and pedestrian realm advanced and protected?
• How are density and sprawl being propagated and managed in the city?
• What policies has the local government enacted to encourage sustainability? 
• What are the key social issues this city faces?
• Where can the neighborhood spend the least and make the most difference (geographically, by transit mode, by program, etc.)
• Are there private sector leaders in the community encouraging sustainability?

This is about analysis, not just reporting. If your selected community has a sustainability plan or statement, do not parrot it, but rather evaluate it, and their (measurable?) efforts toward their stated goals. Focusing on the bolded topics above is required; other areas of analysis may be determined based on the unique nature of the chosen community. Many case studies of sustainable cities are available online – reading some of these studies may assist you in preparing your own analysis.

Each student will complete this analysis for one community. There will be a limit to the number of students which may choose each community. You are welcome to coordinate your data collection with other students working on the same community. However, your analysis and report must be unique; co-authorship or group-think is considered Academic Misconduct. An optional Canvas Quiz is available in which students may indicate any community preferences. Following the quiz due date, the cities will be assigned; while efforts will be made to match students with the desired communities, there is no guarantee that you will be assigned one of your top choices.

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